The best longboard stars never fail to amaze everyone, especially the newbies. Their jaw-dropping performances make every competition worth watching.
Before they became seasoned professionals, however, they also started from scratch.
If you’re thinking about picking up a longboard and starting to learn simple tricks to follow in your idolized skater’s steps, you’re cruising on the right page.
Read on for a list of beginner-friendly longboard tricks:
1) Walking the plank
Walking the plank is about balancing yourself on bended knees. By properly positioning your arms and feet, you can move down the street with ease.
To do this, you have to practice pushing the board with your right and left foot alternately in order to gain better control of the board. You can regulate your speed gradually as you go.
Also, you can try a trick called cross-stepping. It’s when you change your feet orientation from one side to another. Once you master this trick, you are already ready for next-level actions.
2) Footbrake
Aside from walking the plank, footbrake is also a fundamental longboard trick to learn. Learning how to brake lets you regulate your speed and avoid road accidents.
Remember that your mode of transport is unique. It doesn’t have any shifting gears or even steering wheels. You only have your longboard and yourself, so you must master dictating your speed and brake intensity.
To start, try pressing a foot on the ground as the board moves. Create momentary brakes to decrease your longboard’s speed.
Some beginners find it hard to do footbrake because it involves proper balance. If done the wrong way, you could toss yourself accidentally.
So, before trying out other complicated longboard tricks, it’s crucial that you be able to discipline your board.
3) Dancing
Dancing is a basic trick that lets you regulate your speed by shifting your board up and down.
This trick can be more manageable once you master the two preceding tricks on this longboard tricks list. Once you gain more confidence riding, you can dance with your board as you ride down the streets.
Aside from footbrake, dancing also helps you get away from danger and avoid overspeeding. Having straight movements entails swifter rides, which can be dangerous when uncontrolled.
To master this trick, gain confidence by spending hours practicing. Drive your board sideways to distribute the brake on its four wheels.
Once you master this, you can already manage other longboard dancing tricks.
4) Slalom
Slalom is the longboard version of skiing, where you take steep curving turns to avoid obstacles. It also works to regulate your speed when moving downhill.
To do this longboard trick, you must have a good balancing position, with your feet slightly angled in the middle of the board and your knees bent sideways.
Next, maneuver your board by balancing yourself and finding momentum with your arms and feet. For better speed regulation, position your front feet to step harder on your board for that effective brake as needed.
5) Pivot
After you master controlling your longboard speed, you can practice doing pivot. This trick is about rotating your board on half a circle and continuing to move afterwards.
To make this happen, step your front foot on the nose of your board. Then, place your hindfoot at the center.
Once you’ve done that, shift your weight to the front foot to raise the rear wheels. As the board and your legs follow your frame, transfer some of your weight to your new leading leg. To complete the trick, ride off in switch.
Remember to avoid putting too much pressure, though, on the nose of your longboard. Otherwise, it will make the move harder and might result in your fall.
6) Shove it
If you’ve mastered performing the pivot, then you sure can perform a 180-degree turn as you move in the air. Known as “shove it”, this longboarding technique requires you to jump with your board while you turn on a semi-circle movement.
It’s basically the same when you pivot since it’s also about turning with a 180-degree spin. However, shove it requires you to jump and find the right moves so you can land better on your two feet.
You need to use a board with a big-enough tail so you can manipulate it easier. It helps with the pop and scoop. To do this, you have to set up your front foot in the middle of the board. The back foot goes on the corner of the tail.
You need your back foot toes to almost curl over the tail. Then, bend down so you can begin with the rotation. To complete, scoop the tail, jump, and land on your two feet on the board with the same starting position.
Remember the following:
- With the proper back foot position, you can better ensure that you have the proper scoot. Scoot means the action of popping your tail down at an angle to rotate the board.
- Since a longboard is heavier than the typical skateboard, you need to scoop back harder to turn the longboard around.
- Your jump height should only be enough to meet the allowance you need to make your turn with your longboard in the air.
Essentially, the difference between a shove it and pivot is that with shove it, you have to scoop, jump, and rotate the board while you’re mid-air. Meanwhile, pivot doesn’t need your feet to leave the board and jump. You only have to manipulate the board by exerting force on your back foot while your whole body rotates 180 degrees along with the board.
7) Drop-in
When you’ve learned all the preceding tracks on this list, then you have already mastered all the flat movements of a longboard.
Drop-in is about falling smoothly on the ground. Like other tricks, your concentration is the only requirement here.
To make this happen, find a skate ramp and stand on the ledge. Your longboard tail should be slammed on the surface completely. As your feet stand on the tail, step one of your feet on your board’s nose.
Remember to bend your knees frontward and maintain a leaning posture. Then, slowly put your body weight on the nose. From here, move with your board confidently.
Take note of where you’re heading to avoid any accidents. There might be other longboard riders in the skate park, so be extra careful.
8) Backside Kickturn
Before you advance to any other complicated longboard tricks on a skate ramp, you must manage to turn on the ramp’s side. The ramp is elevated and steep, and this is where the challenge lies.
To have a clean kickturn, maintain your desired speed before going to the ramp. Make sure to focus your attention on the spot where you will make a turn. As soon as you’re closing in on the spot, put your body weight on the tail then gradually tilt the board as you ascend.
When you reach the ramp’s coping, do a pivot turn and concentrate on your desired landing spot.
Remember, the balance of this trick relies on your body coordination and posture. Make sure to maintain proper posture as you ascend and descend back to your original spot. Don’t panic as you move so as to minimize danger as you move.
So, is it harder to do tricks on a longboard?
The answer depends on your ability to learn a new skill.
If you are bent on following in the footsteps of your idolized skateboard professionals, practice these basic longboard tricks as often as possible. With dedication and perseverance, assuming your spot in prestigious competitions can be a reality in your future.
If you’re just beginning and haven’t picked up a longboard yet, choose from our wide selections of longboards. We offer amazing choices fit for every type of rider.
Questboards is about offering premium longboards and other related products for optimum riding experience. Pick a board now and start learning your first longboard trick.
